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Cemetery Caches


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If the cache is placed with respect to the graves I have no problems with it. If the cache teaches me something about the history or points out lost cemeteries out in the woods, even better. If the cache is an offset multi that requires me to learn a bit from the graves and the container is outside the perimeter-the best of both worlds.

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I love cemetery caches; I've even hidden a few myself. I can't really recall any that I've seen that were particularly disrespectful (on/too near graves) - most are tucked into trees, bushes, or at the edges of the cemetery. Frankly, if I were dead, I'd rather enjoy the thought of people visiting me while enjoying their hobby!

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I like them, especially in older cemeteries that have a bit of history and interesting monuments. In fact I adopted two (one traditional and one multi that requires the finder to gather information from various interesting places in the cemetery to find the coords for the final) plus a two stage mystery cache that may or may not have a stage hidden in a cemetery.

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I love cemeteries, so I love cemetery caches. My MIL also has a love of cemeteries and has placed a lot of cemetery caches. I used to have one as well, that was outside of the cemetery itself (an historic Native American cemetery). I eventually archived it because a neighbour was upset about it. :(

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I love cemeteries, so I love cemetery caches.

 

+1

 

I did a cemetery cache last Sunday near an airport in St Paul, MN. Knowschad (yes, he's still alive) told me that I needed to go to the back of the cemetery for perhaps the coolest marker ever. We hiked back and sure enough that guy wasn't lying. It was an engine and prop from an old plane. I really wish I had my camera along for the trip. I'll probably be going back someday just for pictures.

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I love cemeteries, so I love cemetery caches.

 

+1

 

I did a cemetery cache last Sunday near an airport in St Paul, MN. Knowschad (yes, he's still alive) told me that I needed to go to the back of the cemetery for perhaps the coolest marker ever. We hiked back and sure enough that guy wasn't lying. It was an engine and prop from an old plane. I really wish I had my camera along for the trip. I'll probably be going back someday just for pictures.

 

What's that cache? Please? Pretty please?

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I love cemeteries, so I love cemetery caches. My MIL also has a love of cemeteries and has placed a lot of cemetery caches. I used to have one as well, that was outside of the cemetery itself (an historic Native American cemetery). I eventually archived it because a neighbour was upset about it. :(

I just had to peek. :) We are both Waymarkers that love old Cemeterys. :D I also believe that some sites make better Waymarks than a place to hide a geocache. I have completed one Cemetery Challange recently in a old historic Cemetery.

 

BTW: Nice Waymark. :anibad:

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I love cemeteries, so I love cemetery caches. My MIL also has a love of cemeteries and has placed a lot of cemetery caches. I used to have one as well, that was outside of the cemetery itself (an historic Native American cemetery). I eventually archived it because a neighbour was upset about it. :(

I just had to peek. :) We are both Waymarkers that love old Cemeterys. :D I also believe that some sites make better Waymarks than a place to hide a geocache. I have completed one Cemetery Challange recently in a old historic Cemetery.

 

BTW: Nice Waymark. :anibad:

Thanks! I haven't been Waymarking as much lately, I've been wanting to get back into it. I have some more cemetery related waymarks waiting in the queue that I need to finish.

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I love cemeteries, so I love cemetery caches.

 

+1

 

I did a cemetery cache last Sunday near an airport in St Paul, MN. Knowschad (yes, he's still alive) told me that I needed to go to the back of the cemetery for perhaps the coolest marker ever. We hiked back and sure enough that guy wasn't lying. It was an engine and prop from an old plane. I really wish I had my camera along for the trip. I'll probably be going back someday just for pictures.

 

What's that cache? Please? Pretty please?

 

Here's the cache:

 

Pearly Gates at the Old Union

 

Here's the engine:

 

508846fb-347b-4b79-84cd-977881fd925e.jpg

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I'm not a fan of caches hidden in the middle of cemeteries, I don't think they're respectful. Most I've seen have been micros, not too bad, but once we found a TB hotel that was right next to a headstone, you had to walk over the grave to get it. Not cool.

 

Caches on the edge of a cemetery are mighty fine good to go, as others have said, the more historic the cemetery the better.

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I'm not a fan of caches hidden in the middle of cemeteries,

There are some notable exceptions in my general area. Greenlawn Cemetery here in Columbus, Ohio, is immense. There are woodlands and arboretums scattered throughout the cemetery, and they're ideal places for geocaches. The same applies to a wonderful cemetery I explored a few months ago, East View Cemetery in Cleveland. Tons of great history, and lots of woods with trails. Ferncliff Cemetery in Springfield, Ohio, has woods, and trails, and rock formations and several great caches.

 

--Larry

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I'll be more specific. This is my cache (http://coord.info/GC2VPQM) and based on all the comments it seems to be ok. The only issue I can see is that it doesn't have approval from the cemetery/council etc.

There has been a couple of logs along the lines of "so sad to see the baby memorials within sight" and this is where the whole topic came from.

What are your thoughts?

Edited by scottmcb
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I love geocaches in historic cemeteries as long as they are not placed on or next to graves.

 

One of the best posts I've read on the subject came from Flask:

 

back in the days before geocaching i used to hang out in a cemetery near a camp i went to in the summers. i noticed an interesting configuration of two families buried side-by-side in two different rows and wondered if there was a connection.

 

so i made diagrams and took pictures and then i went to the town offices and spent time in the vaults. the clerk was very friendly and the camp counselors were amused.

 

those people have been gone a long time, but if not for me playing among the graves nobody would be thinking of them. i learned everything i could about them: their birth and death dates, their land records, their enlistments, their birth and death certificates. i was able to trace their migration to my state, and the passage of their careers, the town's history, and the evidence of the epidemics that i knew about but hadn't given much thought to. cholera epidemic took every child a family had. young man died in a prison camp in virginia. family all gone.

 

right on the headstones, it says "remember me as you pass by".

 

who will remember if nobody passes by?

 

recently i was at a cache at a place where a soldier was buried where he fell in the course of a long march during the 1812 war. his name is unknown. who visits him? geocachers, mostly.

 

our old cemeteries are full of civil war dead; our state had the highest per capita casualties in that war. entire hill towns died out because the men never came home. some of the bodies were shipped home. few of those graves have visitors these days.

 

at the end of my street there are both union and confederate dead; where i live it is unusual for there to be confederate dead. the mills are gone. the houses have been razed. the road has been thrown up. the trees have grown back.

 

a geocache means people will come to see. they will get to stand on the steps of the old baptist church even though the steps are all that's left.

 

one day i'll be buried up there. i hope you'll come visit.

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A couple of months ago, I visited a few caches that were in the cemetary that houses the homeless and abandoned. Many of those folks were Veterans that didn't know how to readjust to civilian life. Many were just people that didn't know how to fit in with the rest of us. If not for us, who else would visit these people and wonder about their stories?

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I think it's more disrespectful to set aside a large plot of land, cover it with grass that has to be mowed and fill it with fiberglass boxes that have more in common with a car body in regard to cost and construction than it is to visit a public place that was designed to be visited and enjoy your life while reflecting on the lives of people that have come before you.

 

I don't know where folks get the idea that suddenly taking up geocaching will cause a normally sane and respectful person to act like a fool just because you have a GPSr in your hand.

 

There was a time that picnics were held after church service in the middle of cemeteries- right over the grave sites. The families of the dead would gather over the graves of their relatives and celebrate life and community.

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I think it's more disrespectful to set aside a large plot of land, cover it with grass that has to be mowed and fill it with fiberglass boxes that have more in common with a car body in regard to cost and construction than it is to visit a public place that was designed to be visited and enjoy your life while reflecting on the lives of people that have come before you.

 

I don't know where folks get the idea that suddenly taking up geocaching will cause a normally sane and respectful person to act like a fool just because you have a GPSr in your hand.

 

There was a time that picnics were held after church service in the middle of cemeteries- right over the grave sites. The families of the dead would gather over the graves of their relatives and celebrate life and community.

I used to have mixed fellings about this type of caches until I did this one. (this is my log BTW)

 

Totem Clan

Premium Member

 

600

Found it

11/15/2011

I was born and raised in Granite. I have been away for most of the last 25 years serving Uncle Sam. I came by here today to get this cache but also to visit my Mother's headstone. My Grandmother, Grandfather, 2 uncles, 2 aunts and my Mother all buried less than 50 feet from this cache. I'm not big on caches in cemeteries and didn't know how I would feel about this being so close to my family's plot, but this is a very well placed cache. Thank you for placing the cache is discreetly as did.

 

BTW the log is damp and needs to be replaced. I didn't have my repair kit with me today or I would have replaced it.

 

The tree this cache is in was planted by my Grandfather when bought the plot. He always said that when he and Grandma passed they could know those that came to visit would have a bit a shade to enjoy.

 

Now I have no problem with them. I look forward more people visiting these kind of caches. I know my mother would love the idea of us enjoyinf some fresh air and a nice walk/drive and the visit.

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If I want to do a multicache, and I want to put the coordinates on my fathers grave, (not actually on it but on a lantern) for me it would be a way to make a lot of people visit him, but maybe it is too morbid for the general caching population?

 

Too morbid? This one has 12 favorite points. As I understand it, there is a compartment built into the headstone specifically to house the cache.

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I had to archive a church cache I made, the container was actually outside the church -

on the other side of the parking, so people should walk tru the cemetary and see the special church,

I was contacted after a while, via some cachers they where stopped on the site,

they was told to contact me, to remove it,

they did not like more geocaching in their area !

The cache was offcourse approved when it was released.

So people can change thrir mind, after they see how geocachers behave on such locations.

here the cache I talk about

http://coord.info/GCYYDD

Edited by OZ2CPU
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I love cemeteries, so I love cemetery caches.

 

+1

 

I did a cemetery cache last Sunday near an airport in St Paul, MN. Knowschad (yes, he's still alive) told me that I needed to go to the back of the cemetery for perhaps the coolest marker ever. We hiked back and sure enough that guy wasn't lying. It was an engine and prop from an old plane. I really wish I had my camera along for the trip. I'll probably be going back someday just for pictures.

 

We have a picture of that! Very cool!

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I had to archive a church cache I made, the container was actually outside the church -

on the other side of the parking, so people should walk tru the cemetary and see the special church,

I was contacted after a while, via some cachers they where stopped on the site,

they was told to contact me, to remove it,

they did not like more geocaching in their area !

The cache was offcourse approved when it was released.

So people can change thrir mind, after they see how geocachers behave on such locations.

here the cache I talk about

http://coord.info/GCYYDD

 

That's a people problem, not a geocaching problem. Unfortunately, people geocache.

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I found a cemetery cache just the other day. Near the center of the cemetery was an area separated off by a wall of bushes. There was a walkway that looped around the area and they had these cut-stone monuments built with little sculpted scenes depicting the "stations of the cross". There was a box with guide cards that described each station. There was a cache behind one the stations. So, I picked up a card and stopped at each station, looking at the pictures & taking photos before getting the cache. I'm not Catholic, but I could still respecfully admire the artwork and enjoy my quick visit. I thought that cache was in good taste. Some caches in cemeteries, though, are next to or near graves and can seem awkward.

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